Weird blood sugar and ketone readings

[Emacfarland]

I just finished taking a practice exam for a big test I have coming up, so maybe feeling a little stressed. I’ve been fasting for 20 hours, and worked out earlier today. I just took my BS and ketone readings, the former was 112 and the latter was .5 so what the heck?! I know stress can raise blood sugar but 112 seems pretty high after fasting for so long. And only . 5 seems low for ketones, after having fasted for that long. What’s going on?? I’m nervous to eat now I’m worried my BS will go even higher!

[akirby83]

You work out like a maniac, right? This is a pretty common thing in super athletic low carbers, they run higher blood sugar in average. Shawn Baker’s fasting glucose was over 130.

[rustyk61]

@Emacfarland, your a beast! Don’t worry about your BG numbers. Stress is such a huge factor in that. You know your in ketosis. Someone that works out like you do, does not surprise me your BK is .5, our bodies learn what we need and when we need it because of repetition. Go make a treat for yourself and try to enjoy this evening!

[Emacfarland]

I guess I have a reputation on the forum haha! Yeah I do at least an hour, usually two hours, of training most days. I’m studying for my personal trainer certification, so I thought maybe my sugars were high because I just took a long practice exam. But that seems really high after fasting for 20 hours! I worked out earlier in the day too, so it’s been a while. My ketone levels are usually lower but I did think they would be a bit higher after fasting. So weird. I wonder if I wait an hour and do some meditating if my BS will come down??

[rustyk61]

More than likely. But don’t freak out. Have you been drinking lots of water?

[Emacfarland]

@rustyk61 well thanks for the compliment (I think! ) I just get nervous because I have a strong family history of diabetes and also the genetic predisposition, which is part of why I started keto in the first place. So I guess when I see a number like that it concerns me! It might be stress though I certainly have enough of that going on!

[akirby83]

If you were doing a lot of glycolitic exercise then it makes sense that your body would try to be creating new glycogen which might manifest as higher blood sugar. IDK, just my speculation. Do you measure your glucose often, and in what time relation to exercise?

As for diabetes, the blood sugar would only be a cause for concern if you had high fasting insulin, or zero fasting insulin.

[Emacfarland]

No I need to catch up on my water intake! I sometimes forget to drink enough during the day and being in Colorado it’s very dry anyway. Does being dehydrated affect glucose?

[rustyk61]

I’m like you…mother, father, brother, sister all have T2D. I do not and don’t want it. 112 is not high.

[rustyk61]

Everything effects BG and BK!

[Emacfarland]

It’s crazy I have been doing keto for a long time and it still surprises me at how I think I have things figured out and then it all changes!

[ketoteacher1]

I’m highly active, too, and rarely have high ketones. Then outta nowhere I’ll be at 2.4 for no apparent reason, and that’s a high number for me. Once I was 3.4 but that was a day I didn’t work out
I’m considering cutting the cardio to walking only and keeping the intense weight lifting. Both together are a lot and even though I feel great and love it, I think it’s what’s keeping my hunger up all the time.
Also, it just might be healthier for me to cool it on the intensity. .have you ever tried lessening cardio? Curious if it had any affect on ketones, hunger, etc

[Emacfarland]

@ketoteacher1 I had to cut back on exercise and stop keto last year over the summer to regain weight after being diagnosed with anorexia and exercise bulimia (you can hear all about my story on the fabulous Keto Woman Podcast I recorded last year!). So obviously wasn’t measuring my ketones then, but lately my training volume, and cardio specifically, has increased as I’m training for Bike MS coming up in June. I still run some too and do the elliptical if I don’t feel like running or biking. I’ve rarely had super high blood ketones over the past few years when I’ve tested them. However, my lipid panels show that I have a high amount of fatty acids circulating in my body being used for energy, based on my cholesterol numbers and triglycerides. So I know that my body is running on fat. I have upped my protein intake after giving zero carb a go, and despite adding back vegetables I found I feel better when I increase the amount of fatty meat I eat as opposed to trying to up the amount of fat. That always left me absolutely ravenous. I could eat half a pound of macadamia nuts after a meal and still not feel satiated, as I would try and stick to the keto “rule” of keeping protein moderate. However, once I let myself eat meat to satiety that gnawing hunger subsided. So it’s possible the increased protein I’m eating might be leading to higher blood sugars in general. But I’m eating maybe a pound or pound and a half a day, not four or five pounds like some of the carnivore people out there. Funny, after I had this high reading I drank some water and relaxes a bit and took my BG again and it was 82, but my ketones went from .5 to .4 so who the hell knows what’s going on! It’s fun to test this stuff but I don’t do it religiously. I find it interesting how dynamic it all is and obviously we don’t know everything about what these readings mean as a snapshot of what’s happening in our bodies at a particular moment!

[ketoteacher1]

Hmmmm that’s really interesting, Erin. I will check out that podcast - I love Shawns work!

[DiMo]

Yes, being dehydrated affects glucose measurements. I’ve worked in clinics for over 20 years. We always tell patients that while they need to fast before their lab draws, they need to make sure and drink plenty of water. It not only can affect your lab results, but if you’re dehydrated, it cane make the blood draw more difficult.